Thief of hearts
by Grandmaster Nightingale
Summary: What's it like being a guard captain in a peaceful village? Boring. So naturally when a dragon attacks and steals her heart, Ophelia jumps on the opportunity for adventure.


_Martius 1st, year of the dragon_

 _Ophelia's office, in her home town of Susly_

Sitting there in your office, you can't help but feel as though the day is progressing too slowly. No matter how much you occupied yourself with the filed reports of the various guards employed under you, it's all just so very uninteresting today. Leaning back in your creaky old chair, you rub your eyes tiredly, reading over the letter from the Duke again and sighing. Just his normal ramblings, and nothing worth your time. Well, Fern almost had an incident with a flower pot and some saltpeter, but otherwise there wasn't anything of note in town.

Looking over the reports of the other guards again, you notice a small discrepancy in one of the reports and groan to yourself. "William's been sneaking over to that woman's place while on his shift, huh?" you say to yourself, making a mental note to scold him later about it. Twirling a small utensil... thing in your hand, you realize how terribly bored you are when you start to wish for a spontaneous bandit attack, or even a meteor. Or maybe even both at the same time. Standing slowly and meandering for the door out of your dull cluttered office, you grab your trusty sword, a rather worn, but useful sword for when you need to use it. Then again you barely even get to do that. Even though it was worn, you used it proudly, and after the first few times, none of your underlings made any note about it's quality. Which was very wise of them.

Exiting your office, the creaky door heaving as you swing it open, you hear the sound of your brother breathing quietly and attempting to get the drop on you from above. Sighing to yourself, you realize you won't be able to just walk away without dealing with him this time. He doesn't seem to understand that as captain you don't have time for him.

Turning on your heels quickly, you easily sidestep your brothers attack, quickly drawing your sword and slashing it at him. However you weren't aiming to kill the little bastard, and turned it so that the flat of your blade hit him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground.

Looking down at him, you can't help but feel a bit of pity for the whimpering child in front of you, but the feeling is fleeting. Grabbing him from the ground, you hit him on the head with the handle of your blade, causing another whimper to escape from him as you let him go. "Go home." You mutter simply, turning to head back inside your office and to your boring paperwork, before one of your guards come running up to you, sweaty and gasping for air. Which was always a bad sign. "Captain, sir..." He panted, the man obviously too large to be considered a fit guard, but kept on duty due to a shortage of able bodied extras. "The Lord Chancellor requested your appearance at Kyhtor Stramous. And I think he's serious." the man spouts, leaning down and catching his breath for a moment.

Rolling your eyes, you look back to where your brother was a moment ago, seeing no signs of him. Good, he did in fact leave you alone, instead of trying to sneak up on you again. Sighing and rubbing your temples, you look at the man with a bit of irritance at the mention of the Lord Chancellor." Absolutely nothing about that man, or the one he works for is ever serious." you say, earning the shocked look of your underling.

"B-but aren't you in employ to them, Sir? It isn't very befitting to-" he begins, before catching onto the fact that you're glaring at him. "Ahhh, nevermind, sir. We should probably get going."

_

Arriving in Khytor Stramous was always a strange feeling. No matter what time of day you arrived, you always felt odd getting stared at by everyone. In a place that had more reason to stare at their own ruler than a captain who occasionally came in from time to time to bring official documents and other boring errands. To be fair you enjoyed the attention, but you were still very confused to why you were getting it. Walking down the main road of town, you pass taverns and shops, all bustling with business. It's always just... confusing coming here.

It's generally a much bigger place than Susly, being the capital of the province of Elmar and such. However even with the larger population of people, you're generally given a wide berth of space.

Karl, you're lieutenant, speaks up a bit as he spots a doll in a window of the human figure. "There sure are a lot of interesting things to buy here..." he muses to himself, and you have to agree. All considering the Dukes manner of ruling, things are relatively prosperous here. Karl, a mousy boy more than a man, is lagging behind slightly before you cast a look at him.

"You should fall behind, Karl. The Duke is ferocious with those that lag behind." You say, in an amused tone that frightens Karl into catching up.

Entering the castle walls, in the courtyard you're greeted by the butler Jeffrey, who kindly and politely takes your boots from you "Thank you, Captain Ophelia. We all know how Lord Eslin get's when guests enter without taking off their shoes." he politely says, handing them to a servant who would likely place them suspiciously close to the pantry. Being led to the Chancellors office by another servant, you find yourself passing someone who smells quite strongly of olives and lavender on the stairs of the main chamber. Crinkling your nose you shake your head, and return your attention to your guide, and the ridiculous looking hat he is wearing. You could hold in your laughter, but your lieutenant Karl wasn't so lucky to have such control...

Stopping on the stairs, Karl looks as if he's going to burst, and the servants expression is only one of utter annoyance as the mousy little man struggles to withhold his laughter. Bursting out into laughter, Karl wipes a tear from his face as the servant/guide's eyes narrowed at him. Lightheartedly patting him on the shoulder, Karl shakes his head. "Don't worry, we've all had to wear the hat before." he says as you near the chancellors chambers, your guide bowing respectfully and silently disappearing in the direction of some distant clashing.

You knock once, the sound so reverberating around the large hall despite the noises already being made, before entering. "You called." You simply say, wasting no time in formalities. Which is honestly how the Chancellor liked it. Rubbing his temples tiredly, he looks up from a piece of paper and nods to you. "I have some bad news. Lord Eslin wants to talk to you, and it's serious." he says, a grave look on his face.

As he says this, the color drains from your own face at the words that just escaped the tired old mans lips. "H-he's serious?" you stutter, the man nodding and standing from his seat, pointing in the direction of the Dukes chambers. Shuffling to a bookshelf and pulling a book from it, he scans the pages for a moment before closing it quickly and brushing past you. "Best not to keep him waiting." He mutters, gesturing for the two of you to follow. Entering the small dark office, you scan the dark room for a sign of life, only to realize that Lord Eslin was sitting on his desk in a meditative stance. Cracking open an eye, he groans in exasperation.

"Is it bath-time already? Well, if I must be bathed by one as gorgeous as you, I suppose it shall suffice." he mutters, standing and beginning to undo his shirt, stripping down to his boxers before the Chancellor stopped him. Shaking his head furiously, the Chancellors face turns a bit whiter, if that's even possible. "No, Lord Eslin. This is about that problem we discussed over strawberries and rum." he finishes, to which the Duke began re-doing his clothing.

"Ahh, why didn't you start with that you idiot." The Duke mutters dejectedly, looking over you carefully and tilting his head. "And who are you?" he asks, much to your annoyance. You'd met the duke on many occasions before. Which wouldn't be so annoying if you hadn't witnessed him recognize a visiting noble that he hadn't seen in over ten years, including his name and that he had a son.

"My name is Ophel-" you begin, only to be shushed by him and hit with his cane on the head. As it strikes you, you hold back the urge to tell the bastard what's really on your mind, but it probably wouldn't be the best idea.

"How ignorant of you. Have you forgotten the dance that all those before me must perform?" he asks, genuine annoyance etched onto his face.

Sighing, you look to the Chancellor for help, only to find none. Leaning over, he simply whispers into your ear. "Just do the dance..."

You look the man over for a moment, narrowing your eyes and smirking. You'd always noticed that things happened too perfectly around him. No matter what situation the Duke ended up in, whether it be famine, pestilence, or an invading army of ants, he always seemed to have the perfect solution for it.

"You know, it get's a little old every time you mess with me like this for your own strange amusement." You say, much to the shock of both the Chancellor and Karl. As their faces grew a bit pale(r), you suddenly salute, shouting "For the Lord Duke of Pancakes and Elmar, sir Esquire grandmaster Lord Eslin the 43rd and a half, I dance!" You couldn't tell if their faces had grown more shocked or not, but that was probably because you were too busy dancing. Did you know your hips could thrust like that? Not until this moment you didn't. Putting in a spin for flair? Most definitely. Tapping your shoes like an exotic performer? You'd be an idiot not to.

As you danced to your hearts content, you realize you actually kind of like dancing. Of course, you never got the time to really notice this, as you spent all of your time at the village functions watching over the dancers and party goers with a watchful eye, to protect them from monsters and other baddies that might be attracted by the noise. Actually, you can't really remember a time when you weren't so engrossed with your job. However, as much fun as you're having, you're quickly interrupted by the sharp pain of the Dukes cane hitting your skull. Stopping and holding your head, a bit confused, you raise you brow at him.

"That was dreadful, ohhhhhhh I've never seen worse dancing." The Duke says harshly, pointing to the door. Dammit, maybe he was actually just crazy? "Lord Chancellor and the young woman-" he says, pointing to Karl dramatically "Find me an artisan that can make something beautiful to take this atrocity from my mind. I shall spend this time with this young man teaching him how to actually dance." the Duke finishes, a little "harrumph" to his tone.

Wait a second, did he just call you a man?

Before you can realize, the two others have bolted from the room, and the Duke locks it behind them, sighing and rubbing his head. Waiting a moment with his his ear to the door, he looks back at you and walks towards you. "So, you realized my facade, huh? I suppose it can't fool everyone." He chuckles, patting your head gently. "Good job."

You couldn't see the confusion on your own face, but you could definitely feel it. Was this him messing with you again? He sounded so awfully... sane?

Taking a glass from his desk and drinking from it, he sits in his desks chair, looking through a few papers on his desk and looking back up to see your slack jawed gaze peering at him. He looks to be very amused by your reaction. Is he messing with you again? "You seem to be a bit confused. I'll elaborate. As a Duke, it's incredibly easy to make enemies. Especially enemies within your own castle. My father, as you may know, was killed by his very own Chancellor, a man he thought of as a brother and I as an uncle. I don't intend to make the same mistakes he made, so the part of a mad Duke came naturally to me." the man elaborates, returning his eyes back to the papers littering his desk. "Those who are treacherous see me as an easy target, and feel as though it should be simple to manipulate a man who's clearly out of his own mind."

He was an older man, looking to be in around his 30's-40' an older man, he was actually kind of handsome, should you forget all about the way he acts. However his answer only confuses you more. Why would he tell you this, if he was afraid of people within his ranks betraying him. Shaking the thought away, you simply nod your head. It's entirely possible that he's under the impression that a single guard captain isn't very much a threat to him. And he would be rather correct. "So why would you bring me h-" you begin to say, before being shushed by him.

"I brought you here..." he says, pausing as he skimmed over a paper. "Because I want you to check something out for me. A patrol was sent three weeks ago to clear out a saurian cave. It was supposed to be easy, as most guards are accustomed to dealing with threats as this. I want you to check it out, see what went wrong." He finishes, before furrowing his brow. "Take extra caution with you when you go. I fear more than a saurian resides there..."

Looking to the door, he gestures for you to go. "Go on now, don't tarry you have pies to bake and lizards to make into kabobs!" he exclaims, smirking even wider now and shaking his head. "Oh, and one more thing. Attempt to look as traumatized as possible when you leave, if you could. I'll have the appropriate reports sent to you via courier, so you have a few days to decide who you'll be bringing." He says, as you nod, leaving the room and putting on your "traumatized face".

Walking past everyone you attempt to look spooked by every single sound, and refuse to talk to anyone, silently retrieving your shoes from Jefferey as he solemnly nods. "It seems the Dukes scared another one. A shame, too..." he laments to one of the servant, who silently nods in return.  
_

Walking back from the Khytor Stramous down a dusty road, you begin to notice something odd. The birds were singing. Now normally, this wouldn't be anything important, but it was nearing dusk, and most songbirds would be nesting by now, not singing. Placing a hand on your sword, you continue to walk, hoping they would simply-

"Oi! What's a pretty thing like you doin' out 'ere without a man to protect you? Or do you fink you can do it with that rusty piece of trash your holdin'?" you hear a man call out, your eyebrows twitching at his comment. Stopping for a moment and sighing, you watch as two more men step out of the tree's in front of you. One, oddly enough looked extraordinarily similar in stature to Karl, who had been sent back early to take care of some errands. The other looked exactly opposite, standing quite tall and having muscle to spare.

"Now what's say you come wit' us and make the nights a little less lonely." You hear from the man behind you.


End file.
